Any doubts about James Toseland's ability to adapt to MotoGP machinery vanished into the Qatar darkness during an excellent debut performance, which the Briton aims to build upon this weekend at Jerez.
The reigning double World Superbike champion qualified his satellite spec Tech 3 Yamaha in second place at Losail - then pushed seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi on his way to sixth in the race.
Clearly suffering along the Losail main straight, Toseland will again be riding with the standard spec M1 engine at Jerez - although he should be at less of a disadvantage due to the absence of a sizable straight line 'blast'.
But Toseland will arrive in southern Spain with the added confidence of an impressive pre-season test - where he shrugged off an ankle injury to record the sixth fastest lap time.
"The race in Qatar made me realise it's possible for me to be competitive at this level," said James. "In Qatar the bike just lacked a bit of grunt but I'm hopeful I will get the new engine by the third round at Estoril in Portugal. I've already tested at Jerez and I'm really looking forward to carry on where I left off in Qatar."
As mentioned, Toseland and team-mate Colin Edwards are due to make their debut on the more powerful pneumatic-valve M1 engine - as used by factory riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo - at Estoril.
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